Improvisation Toolkit Vol. 1: Movement Recall

Now that I have retired, my goal is to make sure that my work stays available to the next generation of dancers. So we are offering the entire Belly Dance Geek® catalog with "pay what you want" pricing here on Gumroad. Please note that all of our offerings are fully DIY, and do not include personal support.

- Nadira

Stop Drawing a Blank On Stage

When you try to improvise, do you:

• Draw a blank?
• Remember only a few movements, even though you know many?
• Take forever to think of the movement you want?
• Wish you could focus on the more creative aspects
  of your performance?

Drawing a blank is the result of having too many choices, not too few!
 

Why You Can’t Find Your Keys

Your movement vocabulary is like a big tote bag: the more you put in it, the more time you spend digging around for your keys!
But some purses have special pockets and compartments that make it easy to find your things.

You put the items you use most often in the easy-to-reach outside pocket, so you don’t even have to think about where they are. You can just reach in and your keys will be where your hand expects them to be.

You put the rest of your belongings into the other compartments of your purse. Even though they aren’t in that handy outside pocket, you can still find them quickly, because you know exactly where to look.
 

Organize Your Purse

We’ll sort your movements into the right compartments in your brain, so you can find the one you need quickly.
 

Keep Your Keys in the Outside Pocket

We’ll begin by establishing safety moves, and ingrain them so deeply in your muscle memory that you can do them by instinct alone.

When your brain can’t think of what to do next, your body steps in and provides the move.

You never get the chance to draw a blank!
 

Pack the Essentials

We’ll also train your body to use your safety moves in many different ways and transition smoothly between them.
This will allow you to perform interesting and beautiful variations with just a few movements – and only minimal input from your brain!
This frees up the brainpower you need to let go and think more creatively in the moment.

It’s ironic: training your body in a small number of movements makes it easier for your brain to remember the rest!

Change Goes in the Change Purse

Once your safety moves are second nature, we’ll use simple memory tricks to help you access the rest of your movement vocabulary.
Not only will you be able to remember more movements, they’ll come to you faster!
 

How it Works

The Toolkit eases you into belly dance improvisation using a series of practical, step-by exercises:

Journaling

Self-knowledge is the source of creativity. The journal exercises, done on paper, will help you take stock of your skills and movement vocabulary.
They are deceptively simple, and may even seem trivial, but don’t skip them: they are a powerful foundation for your improv journey.

Guided Exercises

These are the drills that will get improv out of your head and into your body. I’ll explain each one and demonstrate on camera. Then, because you can’t learn to improvise by simply following what you see on the screen, I’ll use voice-over to guide you through your own practice.

Plug & Play Choreography

We’ll start you off in the improv shallow end by teaching you a partial choreography and leaving some sections open to improvisation.
But even in those sections, you won’t be told to “just do it”. I’ll give you guidelines to use as a life preserver until you’re comfortable enough to let go and swim on your own.

You'll also get bonus exercises that you can use when the ones in the main video start to feel too familiar!